Afghanistan
We should never have been in Afghanistan
Two important studies have been published this autumn on the apparent failure of our almost 20-year war in Afghanistan. In…
How Muslim are the Taliban?
I first met Haji Mir, a tribal elder from Helmand, in Herat in western Afghanistan in 2002, not long after…
Now I’m a backbencher, I’m free to speak my mind
Politicians are supposed to have a survival instinct. Mine didn’t kick in last week, so I had no idea that…
Biden is losing Nato
The forming of the Australia-UK-US (Aukus) military alliance in the Pacific shows how everything Trump can say, Biden can do.…
Should we listen to Shamima Begum's verdict on the hijab?
What should one make of Shamima Begum’s appearance on Good Morning Britain? The London schoolgirl left the UK in 2015 to…
How stable is the Taliban government?
Some western governments and media have been involved in a collective act of wishful thinking in recent months over the…
The rise of Taliban Twitter
The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan was swift, but this victory wasn’t won overnight. For years, the Taliban has been waging…
You can't keep an American exceptionalist down
Like millions of other Americans I was riveted by the images of chaos and despair at the Kabul airport as US…
Letters: In defence of GPs
Out of practice Sir: GPs are not ‘hiding behind their telephones’ (Leading article, 4 September). In-person appointments are the core…
Portrait of the week: Tax rises, Tube gets busier and Taliban names its government
Home Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister, announced a new tax in the Commons branded a ‘health and social care levy’.…
Life under the Taliban’s charm offensive
The Taliban Cultural Commission sounds a contradiction in terms but for all foreign journalists it’s the first stop in the…
Ahmad Shah Massoud was Afghanistan’s best hope
Ahmed Shah Massoud was described as ‘the Afghan who won the Cold War’. While famous in France (he was educated…
Is it time to defund the world’s policeman?
It gets lost in the many creative purposes successive American administrations invented to justify remaining in Afghanistan, but the primary…
The 9/11 anniversary marks a painful moment for squaddies
The sweet salvation of the summer recess over, we returned to Sandhurst for our final term of officer training. It was…
How the fight against terror in Afghanistan will change
In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, the West entered a new age: it was the era of the ‘shadow…
The West is being played by the Taliban
There have been some curious juxtapositions in Afghanistan this week. On the one hand, the under-19 Afghan cricket team was…
Portrait of the week: Britain leaves Afghanistan, hurricane hits New Orleans and Gove goes clubbing
Home Britain brought its last troops home from Afghanistan, having flown out more than 15,000 people since 14 August; but…
Letters: The agony of the forgotten Australians
A glimmer of hope Sir: After the debacle of the West’s shambolic withdrawal from Afghanistan, it was comforting to read…
Pet project: how many dogs and cats are there in Britain?
Escape velocity The evacuation of Afghanistan was likened to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. What were the…
‘Britain is not a superpower’: an interview with Ben Wallace
The Defence Secretary on Afghanistan and the questions facing the West
Is the world we value falling apart?
From time to time, people get worried and ask one another: ‘Is the world falling apart?’ I imagine this is…
America, the Taliban and a farewell to arms
It was quite the handover at Kabul airport this week. The last American troops to exit Afghanistan reportedly left facing…
The boys who never grow up: Sad Little Men, by Richard Beard, reviewed
I can’t recall reading an angrier book than this. Richard Beard has written what I hope for his sake is…
The shameful evacuation of pets from Afghanistan
Two stories on the Afghan evacuation today combine to leave me full of bewildered rage. The first, from the Times:…
The descent of Afghanistan
The bomb attacks at Kabul airport were what US and allied commanders overseeing the mass evacuation had most feared. In…
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